The National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has trained 90 students of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Students (NAAS), ABU Chapter, in poultry production and feed formulation.
The one-day training, organised by the NAERLS Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Centre, was aimed at equipping the students with practical entrepreneurial skills to enhance self-reliance and enable them to explore opportunities in the agricultural sector.
Declaring the training open on behalf of the Executive Director of NAERLS, Professor Yusuf A. Sani, the Programme Leader, Agricultural Economics Programme, Professor Abdulrahman Ali, congratulated the participants for taking advantage of the opportunity to acquire skills that could contribute to their economic independence.
Professor Ali described the training as timely, particularly against the backdrop of rising unemployment among graduates in Nigeria.
He commended the leadership of NAAS for initiating the collaboration with NAERLS, expressing optimism that the knowledge acquired would encourage the students to consider agriculture as a viable career and entrepreneurial pathway.
Similarly, the Manager of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Centre, Engineer A. I. Abubakar, urged the participants to take the training seriously and apply the knowledge gained for their personal and economic development.
He said practical application of the skills could help the students overcome financial challenges, diversify their sources of income and enable them to support their families.
A resource person at the training, Malam Musa Bello, encouraged the participants to pay close attention to the presentations and take notes for future reference.
He stressed the importance of translating the knowledge acquired into practical poultry production activities capable of generating income.
In his remarks, the President of NAAS, ABU Chapter, Comrade Usman Haruna, expressed appreciation to NAERLS management for organising the training and providing students with practical entrepreneurial knowledge.
Comrade Haruna appealed to NAERLS to sustain the initiative by organising similar capacity-building programmes for agricultural students whenever the association makes such requests.
The training covered practical aspects of poultry production and feed formulation, with emphasis on skills that could enable participants to establish and manage small-scale poultry enterprises.